Devices, systems and methods for monitoring, recording and communication of vessel information

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for continuous monitoring and control of the vessel performance and history of a vessel, and is configured for use with multiple wide-area network (WAN) interfaces. The disclosed systems can use multiple vessel system interfaces and inputs and outputs to log, report, and transmit vital information via a computer program that adapts to weighted metrics and WAN availability. This can help ensure that prioritized data always is sent first; while ancillary and auxiliary data are sent later through a transmission medium that is directed, timely, and fiscally responsible. Thus, real-time data can be processed to hasten repairs or troubleshooting, and long-term data can be analyzed for safety and nominal operation of machinery.

We claim: 
     
       1. A system on an operating vessel for transmitting information about a performance of the vessel while in-transit, the system comprising:
 at least a first sensor providing information about a performance parameter regarding a status of operation of the vessel or a sub-system of the vessel relating to safety and/or effectiveness; 
 at least a first communication device, comprising a first network interface card, for wirelessly transmitting a first communication signal to connect a first off-board communication network and for detecting a quality of the connection to said communication network; 
 at least a second communication device, comprising a second network interface card, for wirelessly transmitting a second communication signal to connect a second off-board communication network and for detecting a quality of the connection to said second communication network, wherein said second communication network is different than said first communication network; 
 an on-board processor communicatively coupled, directly and/or indirectly, to said at least a first sensor and to each of said at least a first and a second communication devices, wherein said on-board processor executes computer executable instructions to:
 receive the information about the performance of the vessel from said at least a first sensor; 
 prioritize the performance information from said at least a first sensor according to importance to safe and/or effective operation of the vessel; 
 rank said first communication and second communication signal from each of said first and second communication networks based on at least the quality of said signal of said connection and (i) a cost of using said communication network and/or (ii) a reliability of said communication network; and 
 control transmission of the performance information from said at least a first sensor off-vessel via either said first or second communication network based on said priority and said rank. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein said vessel is a sea-going vessel. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , wherein said at least a first sensor provides information about a potentially failure indicating the performance parameter of said vessel. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3 , wherein said at least a first sensor provides information about a propulsion system of said vessel. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein said at least a first sensor comprises a first sensor providing information about a first performance parameter regarding the status of operation of the vessel or the sub-system of the vessel and a second sensor providing information about a second performance parameter different than said first parameter and regarding the status of operation of the vessel or the sub-system of the vessel relating to the safety and/or effectiveness of said vessel. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 4 , wherein each of said first communication network and said second communication network is selected from a satellite communication system, a cellular communication system and a WiFi communication system. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein said at least a first sensor comprises at least a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein each sensor provides information about a different performance parameter regarding the status of operation of the vessel or the sub-system of the vessel relating to the safety and/or effectiveness and wherein said on-board processor is communicatively coupled, directly and/or indirectly, to each of said first and second sensors, and wherein said on-board processer prioritizes the performance information from each of said first and second sensors according to importance to the safe and/or effective operation of the vessel.